Common Logo Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Common logo mistakes

Your logo is the most recognisable part of your brand. It will feature on many of your companies advertising materials and correspondence. It is vital that you make your logo the best it can possibly be. Here are some common mistakes companies make when designing their logos so you can make sure to avoid them.

Relying on trends.

One of the most common mistakes new businesses make is designing a logo based of current, but short-lived trends. The best designs are timeless and grow old gracefully. If you follow trends that change often you will find that within 3-5 years you will either look outdated and subconsciously send this message to your stakeholders, or you will be spending large sums of money to completely re-brand yourself. This is an expensive mistake to make; financially and socially.

Complex and overcomplicated designs.

The best designs are simple. You want to grab people’s attention and be easy to remember. Brands such as McDonalds, Gucci and Jaguar succeed because of their simplicity. Their logos are unmistakeable, uncluttered, and easy on the eyes. This ensures that when we look at them our minds are much more likely to remember the visual cue sent to us and we are likely to think of the brand immediately when we see their logo, or even something that looks similar. It is scientifically proven that logos that are too cluttered are much more likely to be forgot by the human brain.

Fonts that are ‘too much’.

The same rules apply to fonts. A good graphic designer will stick to 1-3 clean and clear fonts in your advertising material, and this extends to your logo. A mistake often made by people designing their own logos is that they use strong and unique fonts. This can confuse the brain, especially if these fonts are loopy, use uneven kerning (the space between letters), have shapes in the middle of letters or use coloured outlines. If your designer tries to use these and you haven’t specifically requested it, you should probably find a new designer.

Clashing colours.

Some colours are made to go together. Red and yellow, orange and purple, green and blue, black and white. If you look at a colour wheel, 2 colours directly opposite each other will go well together if you are seeking a high-energy vibrant design. Another way to find colours that match is to take a primary colour and use the two colours either side (this is best on a 12 segmented colour wheel). This is called analogous colour matching. There are also many sites you can use such as Paletton to help you find a colour scheme that matches your brand and works well for you while creating your logo.

Plagiarism.

This is perhaps the most obvious, but unfortunately the most made, mistake to make when creating your logo. There are millions of companies out there and need to make sure that you are not plagiarising another groups’ designs. This can be a very expensive mistake. It is important to check in with your graphic designer along each step of the design process to ensure that they are acting in good faith and are not lining you up for trouble later on.